Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby each scored 14 points, while Gary Trent Jr. and Thaddeus Young finished 12th and Scottie Barnes 10th for the Raptors (43-32), winners in nine of their last 11 games. Marcus Smart had 28 points to reach the top of the top Celtics in the East (47-29), who saw their six-game winning streak end.
With seven games left in the regular season, the Raptors advanced Monday with a one-game lead over Cleveland for sixth place in the East. A finish in the top six would mean going straight to the post-season and avoiding play-in games. The Raptors were 11 points behind in the first quarter of Monday’s tough game. They finally took their first lead late in the second, and won the Celtics basket basket in a third quarter that saw no team lead by more than three points. The score was 80-80 in three quarters before an audience of 19,800 people including the Canadian Men’s soccer team for the World Cup. Payton Pritchard’s three-pointer early in the quarter gave Boston a seven-point lead, but Young responded with five straight points and VanVlit shot back three with a standing ovation from the crowd, and it was a one-point game. with 3:08 to play. After four to one minutes to play, Siakam led the way to reduce the deficit to two, then grabbed a defensive rebound and fouled in 12.6 seconds. He did both to equalize and send the game to the OT draw 106-106.
After four in overtime, Anunoby connected from a long distance, then Siakam scored in consecutive baskets for a three-point lead of the Raptors with 1:47 to play. Shiakam committed a foul in 51.4 seconds. The two teams exchanged free throws, the two foul shots of Trent Jr. achieved the victory for Toronto.
Coach Nick Nurse spoke before the game about the formidable challenge posed by Boston, reaching a long run of 22 wins in its previous 24 games. “Their defense was incredible. Their attack was incredible,” Ners said. “The running they do is as hot as anyone I can remember.” Smart had two of Boston’s six three-pointers in the first quarter on Monday, with the second raising the Celtics by 11 points in midfield. Boston led 38-30 to star second. The Raptors defeated the Celtics 29-20 in a fun second that saw a series of seven steals. Anunoby’s steal and dunk saw Toronto take their first lead, 48-47, with 3:26 remaining for the first half. Shiakam had a steal and a basket in the next possession of Toronto for a three point lead. With three seconds left in the half, VanVleet swept the ball out of Pritchard and was fouled for a three-point game. The Raptors went to halftime with 59-58. Canada’s men’s soccer team won standing ovations during a timeout, taking center stage during a team tribute a day after the country’s first place finish in the 1986 World Cup with a 4-4 victory. 0 on Jamaica at the BMO Field in Toronto. “Congratulations to these guys,” said Ners, who also coaches the Canadian men’s basketball team. “It was really a long wait, a long distance, and they were awesome on this whole thing.” Asked if the passion can be transferred between national teams, Nurs said: “I think I hope the uniqueness they see is interesting, as they are able to achieve things at the national team level, from sport to sport.” The Raptors host Minnesota on Wednesday and then head to Orlando for the first of two remaining road races in their regular season. The other is the finale of their season in New York on April 10. This Canadian Press report was first published on March 28, 2022.